


Hold On

by amethyst-noir (Arbonne)



Series: Prompt Collection [15]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Hurt Stephen Strange, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Tony Takes Care of Stephen, but more comfort than anything else
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-02 02:18:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16296392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arbonne/pseuds/amethyst-noir
Summary: "Tony," he whispered. "Ithurts."Stephen awakes hurting from a nightmare. Tony is there to help him.





	Hold On

**Author's Note:**

> H/C is my thing and then I got this prompt from @ssironstrange:  
>  _Usually we see Stephen taking care of Tony after a nightmare how about the reverse? Stephens hands flare up real bad while he's asleep and manifests into a nightmare that has him waking up in terror and pain but Tony is right there to take care of him and Stephen just… Loves him so much. How in love with him he is is all he can think about as he cuddles up to Tony and goes back to sleep._
> 
> Fluff was the result. :) (Stephen is the little spoon, you can't tell me otherwise.)

By the time the pain woke him up he could barely remember what he'd dreamed about. Something about dying in the wreck of his car, mixed with Karl taunting him; the rest was an indistinguishable mess of the dark dimension and Titan. Most of it was already gone except for the one snapshot of a boot coming down on his left hand, crunching bones and metal together, and his own screams of pain.

The scream was still on his lips when he woke up, safe in Tony's arms, with the man himself whispering soothing nonsense into his ear. "Psss, Stephen, I've got you. Please wake up, baby, it's okay, you're home, you're safe." He didn't feel safe. His hands were killing him, the left one especially, and he already had tears of pain in his eyes. The light was on but dimmed to almost nothing, so Tony had tried to reach him for a while.

"Tony," he whispered. "It _hurts_." He could barely speak and blindly sought refuge, his hands hidden between them. Tony's hold got even tighter, now that he knew that Stephen was at least partially awake, and he began to stroke Stephen's back soothingly.

"I know, baby. I'm sorry. Try to relax, it'll get better, promise." Stupid nonsense but it was still nice to hear.

He'd known that he would pay for overtaxing himself the moment he helped Peter and May move their belongings into their new apartment. But he'd been a stubborn idiot, too proud to use magic for something everybody could do with their bare hands. "I'm such an idiot," he whispered. He didn't know what he hated more - his body for betraying him like that or his own stupid vanity that caused him to act against his own better judgement again and again. He closed his eyes again and tried to hide his face against Tony's chest. The familiar smell, coupled with warmth and the comforting, rhythmic beat of Tony's heart soothed him almost as much as the slow and regular strokes down his back.

"You're not. You're hurting." Tony gently took hold of his chin and encouraged him wordlessly to look up. "Do you need something for the pain?"

If he hadn't known before that this was serious than that question would have made it crystal clear. Medication was the very last resort and for Tony to offer it up so freely? It meant that he was really scared, since they both tended to avoid pills as much as possible; both in fear of the addiction that lurked just around the corner. He'd forced Stephen to look up so that he could assess his answer better.

Stephen was tempted, oh so very tempted. But he bit his lip and shook his head. "No, I can manage. Just… hold me?" The right one was getting better by the minute anyway. He could deal with it when only one of them was on fire.

Tony smiled sadly at that but he was obviously relieved. "Of course. Always." He let him hide again. "But you let me bandage you up in the morning, okay? And no training and no exercise. Today's going to be a slow day, okay?"

"A slow day" meant that Tony would stay with him, take care of him and do pretty much everything for him. Those days were rare and happened mostly because Stephen managed to get hurt and Tony wanted and needed to take care of him. But Stephen still rather liked those islands of calm in their turbulent lives and was willing to pay the price of pain to get them. From time to time.

"Okay," he agreed after a moment, knowing that he signed over his right to do pretty much anything with his hands for the next day or so. He rolled over on his right side, his back to his lover, and cradling his left hand to his chest, while leaving his right one out, palm open.

Tony followed the wordless invitation an spooned him from behind. His left arm came to rest on Stephen's waist, holding him in place, while he took the offered hand and entwined their fingers very, very carefully before holding it still. "Try to sleep, Stephen. I've got you," he promised. He sealed the promise with a kiss to his neck.

"I know. I love you," Stephen whispered back, unable to let him have the last word. Tony just chuckled and tightened his hold for a moment; a silent response that told Stephen more than words could have ever done. He went back to sleep with tears in his eyes but a smile, safe in the arms of the man he loved more than anything in all of time and space.

There were no more bad dreams that night.

**Author's Note:**

> [Original post.](https://amethyst-noir.tumblr.com/post/178782474486/usually-we-see-stephen-taking-care-of-tony-after-a/)


End file.
